Hello and welcome to all the live action form today’s FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Leeds at Wembley.

Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane is certain the prospect of reaching an FA Cup final will be motivation for his players following their woeful league run that led to Liam Rosenior’s sacking.

Five consecutive defeats with no goals scored is the club’s worst run since 1912 and Tuesday’s 3-0 hammering by Brighton proved the final straw for Rosenior, who was dismissed three months into a six-and-a-half-year contract.

Today’s semi-final against Leeds could not have come at a worse moment but McFarlane, who has been handed the reins until the end of the season, insisted the capitulation at the Amex Stadium – widely considered to have been the worst performance of the season – will not inhibit the team as they seek a return to Wembley in May.

“Really disappointing,” he said of Tuesday’s loss that prompted the hierarchy to remove the manager. “It was hard to watch that, hard to see that. To be dominated from minute one to minute 90. Brighton were very good but we were nowhere near our levels.

“Everything has been done that we possibly can to make sure the lads are as best prepared as they can be for what Leeds are going to throw at us and what we have to stand up to. I believe the players will be motivated to get to an FA Cup final.”

Chelsea’s run has seen them all but eliminated from contention to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The alarming nature of recent defeats, most significantly in losing 3-0 to Everton and Manchester City before collapsing on the south coast last week, was ultimately what prompted the club to remove Rosenior in order to prevent a disappointing season from further unravelling.

By the time Chelsea play against Nottingham Forest on May 4 it will have been two months since their last league goal, in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa.

The defeat to Brighton appeared to demonstrate that the players were no longer responding to the manager, and it is understood that there is an acceptance within the club that appointing a head coach with such limited experience was a mistake.

“Everyone at the club has to feel responsible, staff and players,” said McFarlane. “The players know that, the staff know that, we’ve all spoken.

“We know that the recent form has not been good enough and we’re going do absolutely everything we can, work as hard as we possibly can, to make sure we can put in a good performance.

“A lot of football is about momentum. We’ve had a bit of a losing streak and that can change with one positive result, one positive performance.”

Here are five of the latest planning decisions made by Durham County Council, made in areas like Castle Eden, Newton Aycliffe, Haswell, Byers Green, and Templetown:

Golf swing studio approved

A new golf swing studio cabin has been approved for Castle Eden and Peterlee Golf Club.

Planning permission for the structure was granted on April 23.

The club, situated at TS27 4SS, will now be able to proceed with the installation.

Backdated salon conversion permitted

A retrospective application has been approved for a business operating from a residential property in Newton Aycliffe.

Located at 8 Kemble Green North, the premises will officially function as a mixed-use site, combining residential accommodation with a hairdressing salon.

The decision also includes the conversion of an existing garage.

Care home conversion gets green light

Highfield House in Sycamore Terrace, Haswell, will be converted from a residential property into a care home.

The application, submitted in August, was approved on April 20.

School to become home

Listed building consent has been granted for the conversion of a former school building on Hagg Lane in Byers Green.

The site will be transformed into a single residential dwelling.

Plans include internal alterations to create a mezzanine floor, the installation of five rooflights, and the replacement of existing mortar.

Self-storage facility approved

Permission has been granted for the temporary use of land at Bessemer Court, Hownsgill Industrial Park in Templetown.

The site will now accommodate shipping containers for self-storage hire under Use Class B8 (Storage and Distribution).

The conditions that led to Lyon’s two costly mistakes were created by Arsenal’s intense pressing.

Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler should have collected Mariona Caldentey’s free-kick as it bobbled towards her, but the presence of Blackstenius put her off and she fumbled the ball backwards.

Seven minutes before time, Ingrid Engen let a pass roll past her, lost a foot race with Smith, and collided with Endler to give Smith an open goal.

However, they were still the kind of errors you would not expect a vastly experienced goalkeeper and a two-time Champions League-winning defender to make.

During her post-match news conference, Slegers did not entertain the idea that her side’s goals were fortunate.

“The first goal, it’s hard for the goalkeeper because the ball goes in front and there are runners so it’s hard to see. I think it caught the opposition off guard a bit,” Slegers said.

“The second goal is a good moment that we wanted to create. Sometimes you score the most brilliant goals – but you score all sort of goals in football.”

The Caldentey free-kick that Endler misjudged and was bundled into her own net by Engen was one of several low Arsenal set-piece deliveries aimed to cause maximum disruption.

It was clearly a rehearsed training ground ploy, although Slegers gave little away.

“Lyon is extreme with their physical power and height, so you always look at what we have, what the opposition has, and what the opportunities are for us,” she said.

They were the kind of moments that go your way when things are going well and everything is beginning to click – as was Lyon’s Kadidiatou Diani hitting the crossbar when played through on goal with the score 1-1.

“I thought the momentum we came out of the second half with was massive and hopefully we can take it into the next few games,” striker Alessia Russo said.

“Football is about fine margins, sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t – it doesn’t matter how you score.”

In football, as in life, you make your own luck – and Arsenal’s season could be set for a thrilling conclusion.

The Sheridan Smith BBC drama is expected to be one of the biggest UK TV shows of the year

The BBC’s new drama The Cage is finally here, with parts of the series filmed in Greater Manchester.

Looking to become the BBC’s next big crime drama, in a similar vein to the likes of Happy Valley and Line of Duty, The Cage premieres on Sunday night (April 26). Leading the cast is none other than Sheridan Smith.

Written and created by BAFTA award-nominated Tony Schumacher, best known for his work on Martin Freeman series The Responder, the five-part drama promises to be one of the biggest series of the year.

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Boasting ‘high-stakes and high energy’, its synopsis reads: “When Leanne and Matty discover they are both robbing from the safe at the inner-city casino they work in, their lives are set on a collision course; with each other, the local gangster they’re stealing from, and the police.”

Teasing why she wanted to work on the show, I Fought the Law’s Sheridan said: “Tony Schumacher and I met about three years ago and he told me about this idea. He’d written The Responder and I knew he was an amazing writer. I was like, ‘oh my God, what a gift to work with him’.

“He told me about The Cage, and I thought that sounded incredible. I thought he’d forget about it because he’s so in demand, then he did another series of The Responder because it was such a success.

“So, I thought maybe The Cage won’t be made. Then he came to see me in a show, and he said, ‘Hey girl, it’s been greenlit’. I have to pinch myself that I’m doing it now. He’s an amazing scriptwriter, he’s done it all and he’s been an actor as well, so he gets all the layers of people.”

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Also starring in The Cage are his Is England’s Michael Socha, House of the Dragons’ Barry Sloane, Anne with an E’s Geraldine James, Brookside’s Sue Jenkins and Hollyoaks Sophie Mensah.

Despite the majority of the series being shot in and around Liverpool and Merseyside, the show’s production team did head to Greater Manchester for some portions of filming. At one stage, the cameras took to Le Mans Crescent.

For those unaware of the historic Bolton building, Le Mans Crescent is the go to location for many producers of hit television dramas. It was previously seen in the acclaimed BBC series Peaky Blinders.

On top of this, some scenes of The Cage were also filmed as the picturesque village of Tockholes in Lancashire. Tockholes forms part of the Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority.

When filming was underway in Tockholes last year, the public had to deal with some road closures. The Tockholes Road shut between the Royal Arms and Belmont Road during evening and overnight shoots.

Staying in the area for two days, the show’s production crew are said to have used a pub car park for equipment. Additionally, locals were warned to be weary of potential disruptions while the cameras were rolling.

The Cage starts on Sunday, April 26, from 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One

Former One Direction star Zayn Malik has faced fame, fallouts and very public health struggles — here’s an in-depth look at the man behind the music as he prepares for a global comeback tour…

For former One Direction star Zayn Malik, the story has never been as simple as chart success, screaming fans and a life lived in the spotlight.

Preparing to embark on a worldwide tour, set to begin in Manchester next month, is a major step in what appears to be yet another attempt to reintroduce himself on his own terms. But beneath the promise of a global comeback lies a far more complicated reality; one shaped by anxiety, anger, fractured friendships and a constant push-and-pull between public expectation and private survival.

A recent hospitalisation has forced him to cancel scheduled appearances, just as he was attempting to relaunch himself musically with the release of his fifth album KONNAKOL .

READ MORE: Disney+ £3.99 deal returns as rare flash sale rivals Netflix and HBO Max

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Sharing a photo from his hospital bed, Malik told fans he was “recovering,” thanking his cardiologist and medical team while apologising for pulling out of commitments, including a planned TV appearance. It is not the first time his health has interrupted his career.

Malik has long been open about his struggles with anxiety, which at its height forced him to cancel live performances during his time in One Direction. He has also spoken candidly about an eating disorder he developed during those years, revealing in his autobiography that he would sometimes go days without eating amid the intense pressure and lack of control over his schedule.

And it is not just his shock hospitalisation, but lingering tensions with former bandmate Louis Tomlinson who he reportedly came to blows with while filming a Netflix travel series, that are also deeply worrying.

Indeed it is a relationship that has come to symbolise just how fractured life after One Direction has become. More recently, he has reflected on anger and emotional growth. “I’ve abandoned my brash arrogance,” he said during an appearance on The Zach Sang Show. “You don’t always have to be right. That inner voice… it chills out as you get older.”

It is a striking shift for someone once characterised as the band’s most enigmatic and volatile member. Long before the fame, Malik was simply a teenager growing up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, raised in a tight-knit British-Pakistani family.

Born Zain Javadd Malik on January 12, 1993, he later adopted the stylised spelling “Zayn” as his professional name. His upbringing — shaped by culture, faith and a close relationship with his mother, Trisha — remains central to his identity. Creativity was always part of his life. Before music took over, Malik had a strong interest in art and even considered pursuing it as a career.

That influence has never fully left him; he has contributed to the visual direction of his albums and built a large, deeply personal tattoo collection, which he has described as a kind of visual diary reflecting milestones, family and his journey through music.

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Everything changed in 2010 when he auditioned for The X Factor. Although he did not progress as a solo artist, judge Simon Cowell saw potential and placed him into a group alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne. That group – One Direction – became a global phenomenon almost overnight.

Cowell would later describe Malik as “an exceptional talent,” a sentiment echoed by fans who were drawn to his distinctive voice and brooding presence. Yet even at the height of their success, cracks were beginning to show. Choreographer Katie Wazel, who worked closely with the band in their early days, hinted at those struggles, recalling:

“Zayn found some of the routines tough… he’d get frustrated and sometimes just walk off to take a breather.”

She added that he “put a lot of pressure on himself to get things right,” suggesting that even at the height of their early success, the strain was already building.

Those who worked with the band recall the pressure he placed on himself, with moments of frustration bubbling to the surface during rehearsals. By 2015, that pressure reached breaking point. In a move that stunned fans, Malik left One Direction mid-tour. At the time, the explanation centred on stress, but he later admitted there was more to it.

“I knew something was happening, so I just got ahead of the curve,” he admitted. “We’d got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest… we had run our course.”

He also acknowledged his own ambition played a role: “I was a bit selfish wanting to be the first to go solo. The departure marked one of the most dramatic moments in modern pop history. Fans were devastated, and relations within the band became strained. While time has softened some of those tensions, the emotional fallout has never fully disappeared.

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Malik’s solo career allowed him to step away from the boyband mould and redefine himself. His first solo album, Mind of Mine, made him the first UK male artist to debut at No. 1 in both the UK and US charts with a debut album, showcasing a more mature, R&B-influenced sound, led by the hit “Pillowtalk.” But success didn’t erase his struggles. If anything, it exposed them further.

“I’m developing, growing, and learning from life experiences,” he said in a later interview — a line that reflects a recurring theme in his life: constant self-reinvention in the face of internal battles.

His more recent music has leaned heavily into identity and heritage, particularly on his album Nobody Is Listening, where he began exploring a more introspective, stripped-back sound rooted in his personal experiences. “This album is a development of that understanding,” he explained of his newer material, “knowing more now than ever who I am and where I come from.”

His on-off relationship with Gigi Hadid became one of the most closely followed in celebrity culture. The pair first got together in 2015, shortly after his split from Perrie Edwards, and had an on-off relationship welcoming their daughter, Khai, in 2020 — a moment Malik has described as transformative.

“When I’m with Khai, I don’t work at all,” he said. “We paint, go to the park… I’ve rekindled my own childhood through her.” Fatherhood, by his own account, brought a sense of grounding he had long been searching for.

However, the relationship ended in 2021 following a widely reported dispute involving Hadid’s mother, Yolanda. Malik denied allegations that he struck her but pleaded no contest to harassment charges, later emphasising his desire to protect his daughter and keep family matters private. Despite the split from Gigi, he has remained clear about his priorities: “I will always love and respect her as the mother of my child.”

Malik’s relationship with Louis Tomlinson has also been one of the most scrutinised. Once bandmates, their dynamic has shifted over the years, marked by periods of silence and reported tension.

The pair had reunited for a planned Netflix travel series, which was ultimately scrapped following an alleged on-set row when Zayn reportedly made a cruel comment about Louis mother Johanna Deakin, who died from leukemia in 2016.

Reports claimed the disagreement escalated into a physical altercation, with Zayn punching Louis, shocking crew members and bringing filming to an abrupt halt. In the aftermath, fans noticed that Louis and his sisters had unfollowed Malik on social media — a move widely seen as confirmation of a renewed rift. While details remain disputed and neither party has publicly confirmed the full extent of what happened, the incident reinforced a broader truth: the wounds left by their shared past have not entirely healed.

For fans who once saw the group as inseparable, it was a sobering reminder of how fame can fracture even the closest bonds. In recent years, Malik has largely stepped away from the chaos of celebrity life, choosing instead to live quietly in Pennsylvania. “I enjoy being away from the chaos of fame,” he has said — a simple statement that speaks volumes.

There, his focus has shifted to family, music and personal wellbeing. The move reflects a conscious decision to create distance from an industry that both made and overwhelmed him. Those close to him often describe a more introspective figure — someone deeply connected to his roots, his faith and his role as a father.

His recent hospitalisation has once again raised concerns among fans. While details remain limited, Malik himself acknowledged the situation, thanking medical staff and apologising for cancelled appearances. The timing – coinciding with new music – has only intensified speculation about the pressures he continues to face.

A source suggested he is “still working through his health issues,” underscoring that, despite years in the public eye, his battles are ongoing. For those who have known him since the beginning, Malik’s journey is not surprising — even if it is often misunderstood.

Simon Cowell once described him as “a real star with depth and soul” — someone who has faced significant personal battles.

Now at 33, Zayn Malik is no longer the teenager who nervously auditioned on The X Factor. He is a father, an artist and a man still navigating the complexities of fame, identity and mental health. “I’m not always right… but I’m learning,” he has said — a line that perhaps sums him up better than any headline ever could.

Because behind the controversies, the cancellations and the comebacks, this is ultimately a story about someone trying — often publicly, often painfully — to find balance in a life that has rarely allowed it.

And as he steps back once more to recover, the hope among fans and those who know him best is simple: that the next chapter in Zayn Malik’s world is a steadier, healthier one.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Two 18-year-old men were arrested following the alleged assault on a 17-year-old male and are expected to appear at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Monday.

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged assault near Irvine Beach. Police were alerted to the incident at Irvine Beach Park at around 5.45pm on Saturday, April 25.

The pair, both aged 18, were arrested following the alleged assault on a 17-year-old male. Both are expected to appear at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Monday, April 27.

Glasgow Live reports no serious injuries were sustained in the incident. Police Scotland has also said it is cracking down on “antisocial behaviour” in the Irvine area.

Sergeant Will Thomson, from the Irvine Locality Policing Team, said: “Thankfully there were no serious injuries, and two men were arrested following swift action by our officers patrolling nearby at the time. As our beach park in Irvine develops over the coming months, we will continue to deploy proactive patrols to target any antisocial behaviour and to stop the small number of people intent on causing misery to those who want to enjoy the area.”

The crackdown comes nearly a year after 16-year-old Kayden Moy died in hospital after a large disturbance at Irvine beach on May 17, 2025. Three teenagers appeared in court in December accused of stabbing Kayden to death.

They were accused of repeatedly stabbing the schoolboy, who was from East Kilbride. It is alleged they then attempted to pervert the course of justice in several ways, including fleeing the scene, hiding weapons and asking another person to burn blood stained clothes.

Prosecutors claim they were brandishing knives and a baton or similar instruments on the beach and were challenging people to fights. Jay Stewart, 18, is accused of carrying a knife and baton while two youths aged 17 and 15, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are charged with allegedly carrying knives.

Prosecutors also allege they put members of the public in danger of injury after throwing rocks at them. The teenagers are alleged to have murdered Kayden by pursuing him, causing him to fall to the ground and then repeatedly stabbing him on the body with a knife, inflicting injuries which led to his death.

It is claimed they tried to wipe blood from a knife, hiding in bushes and then fleeing the beach. They are accused of repeatedly concealing their faces to hide their identities from cameras and travelling to East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.

They also face claims they hid knives in a bed frame and a freezer and asked someone to burn their blood-stained clothes. Jay Stewart is alleged to have committed the offences while on bail.

The case is scheduled to go to trial at the High Court in Glasgow next month.

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Gary Haveron led the club to a third Gibson Cup success in four years

Leroy Millar insists Larne boss Gary Haveron should have a “statue built for him” after the Inver Park boss led his hometown club to the league title.

The newly-crowned champions began the season surrounded by uncertainty, with Kenny Bruce selling his majority stake, Shaun Want returning to Scotland, captain Cian Bolger ruled out for the campaign and manager Nathan Rooney gone after just one Premiership game.

But Haveron stepped into the breach and turned chaos into a coronation, and midfield star Millar was only too happy to heap the praise on the 45-year-old.

“He has been absolutely unbelievable. He has been here a very long time and is a Larne man through and through,” he said.

“I am buzzing more for him than anyone else. Even during his pre-match talk he was nearly in tears as it means so much to him.

“Get the statue built for him!”

Humble Haveron (left) felt the club’s third Gibson Cup success in four years was built on collective grit and determination.

“We dug in, it was a far from straightforward season,” he said.

“We were written off by so many people, and that maybe worked in our favour as we were able to get on with our work.

“The boys got everything they deserve. This was a hard title to win, there is no doubt about it.”

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Roman Abramovich’s “hire ’em, fire ’em” strategy inflicted instability on Chelsea, but was also the catalyst for great glory.

In the Abramovich era, which stretched from July 2003 to May 2022, Chelsea won 18 major honours and two Community Shields, contesting 30 finals under 15 managers, including caretakers and interims.

The classic case came in 2012, when caretaker manager Roberto di Matteo won the Champions League and FA Cup after succeeding the sacked Andre Villas-Boas.

Under BlueCo’s leadership, Chelsea have won two major honours – the Conference League and Club World Cup – and have now reached three finals under eight managers, including caretakers and interims.

Now, from the wreckage of a chaotic campaign, Chelsea could perform the feat again – providing the players who have gone missing so often this season show up against Manchester City and play to their capabilities.

It was clear from Rosenior’s latter days that he had lost the faith of the dressing room. A dismal 3-0 loss at Brighton was the final straw for an ownership who desperately wanted the 41-year-old – brought in from another of their clubs, Strasbourg – to succeed as a symbol of their multi-club model.

It is not exactly a glowing reference for Chelsea‘s players that the sight of interim head coach Calum McFarlane on the touchline – or indeed anyone who was not Rosenior – prompted an instant uplift in performance and attitude.

McFarlane told BBC Radio 5 Live after the game that the team’s character had been “questioned a lot and rightly so at times” – but not by him.

“I wouldn’t queston their character,” he added. “It’s been questioned because of the results. We’re playing against top teams, you get in a rut. People are reactive to the results.

“That group has massive character.”

Indeed, this was a better day for Chelsea‘s much-criticised hierarchy, with co-owner Behdad Eghbali in close proximity at Wembley to England head coach Thomas Tuchel, the first manager to be shown the door under his rule when he was dismissed on the new regime’s 100th day in September 2022.

For an FA Cup semi-final that didn’t offer much to talk about beyond Enzo Fernández scoring the winner, Chelsea’s 1-0 win could provoke a lot of other discussion. Some of it served to quieten even this raucous Leeds United crowd by the end.

By that point, you wouldn’t have thought an FA Cup final appearance was at stake, given how quickly Wembley emptied. Another debate could, of course, be had about staging semi-finals here. Still, there’s something rather sorry about even the Leeds players saluting scores of empty seats.

Maybe that just shows how professional Chelsea’s performance had been. Outside a few spikes of activity like Brenden Aaronson’s early shot and a piledriver from Anton Stach, Calum McFarlane’s side just shut Leeds out. None of the energy that we’d recently witnessed from Daniel Farke’s side was evident. Or, at least, none of it was allowed to be evident. There wasn’t even really a late Leeds flurry.

You could say they didn’t rise to the club’s biggest occasion in years, but that doesn’t feel fair, or true. Witness the desperate defending when Joao Pedro almost turned in a chance just after half-time. Leeds were clearly desperate for this. It’s just not that easy, certainly not in the modern game. Look at the difference in expenditure.

Chelsea have generally had a miserable season where the fans have frequently protested about the ownership, and yet here they are again in an FA Cup final and 90 minutes from potentially winning a third trophy in a year. This obviously isn’t to defend the ownership. It’s more of a comment on how the modern game works.

The financial differences weren’t the only gap, though. There was also the chasm between the discipline Chelsea displayed here and the rabble at Brighton on Tuesday. How do you explain that? McFarlane naturally didn’t go into too much detail, other than to say that his side needed to “break the momentum” of the past few games and that there was a “focus”.

So, the obvious question: where was that focus for Liam Rosenior? The transformation in performance should really be remarkable, but is, of course, fairly routine in football. It happens a lot with a change of managers. It isn’t all that simple, either. If players “aren’t having” a manager, to use the vernacular, there can be all sorts of conscious and subconscious effects. They just don’t feel as motivated, as focused, to use some of McFarlane’s words.

The fact that Fernandez got the winner nevertheless brings a greater symbolism, given that he is a Chelsea dressing-room leader who was the subject of a two-game ban. He was also there shrugging his shoulders at the fans.

Well, he knew exactly what to do here. Fernandez was brilliant. It could be argued that one of the main differences between what went before and this was the Argentine performing to his level, but there was, of course, more to it.

Chelsea were just better structured, with everything just looking like it made sense. Leeds could barely get near their goal. On the one occasion they did, Aaronson may regret not taking the ball on further. Robert Sanchez did save well.

Really, there were improvements in Chelsea’s performances all over the pitch. Joao Pedro, in particular, restored a verve to attack. Although it was only 1-0, the game felt close to settled as a contest once Fernandez plundered that header. Long stretches of it were, in truth, boring. Chelsea didn’t allow Leeds to do anything exciting. This was admittedly aided along by some conspicuous time-wasting, which is an issue authorities surely have to start looking at more seriously.

And, after all that, there is then the symbolism of what this 2026 FA Cup final will showcase. There’s no Crystal Palace this time. Their uplifting victory naturally seems like an inevitable aberration. Southampton-Leeds United came close to offering similar, and there’s little doubt there would have been more meaning to such a final. Manchester City and Chelsea have, after all, been in 16 finals between them over the past 20 years.

They’re well used to trips to Wembley, and generally have grander ambitions. That’s all because they’re just able to spend more.

A wider context to this is also unavoidable, especially with so much current football discussion. Only this season, Chelsea were punished for breaching Premier League rules in a case that brings significant doubt over their title wins of 2015 and 2017. They are still the subject of a related investigation from the very organisers of this competition: the Football Association. Manchester City are, meanwhile, still the subject of an even further-reaching case that goes back to early 2019 and had its hearing concluded as long ago as December 2024. The club insists on its innocence.

Regardless of the outcome, though, it is an absurdity that the case is still ongoing, and there is no resolution. And this is what surrounds English football’s great traditional occasion. Before this semi-final, Chelsea fans were enduring an utterly miserable season, and yet they now have a day Leeds can only dream about.